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For the second time this month, Eminem made a surprise appearance at a packed arena that wasn’t one of his own concerts.
Two weeks after popping up onstage at Ed Sheeran’s concert at Detroit’s Ford Field, Slim Shady was in Las Vegas to walk boxer Terence Crawford to the ring for his title fight Saturday against Errol Spence Jr.
“Las Vegas, make some noise for the next undisputed welterweight champion of the world, Terence “Bud” fucking Crawford,” Eminem yelled to the star-filled crowd as the signature beats of his 8 Mile hit “Lose Yourself” filled the T-Mobile Arena.
(While it seemed like Eminem would rap the song himself, he let the pre-recorded song play out and instead focused on his walking-to-the-ring duties.)
Perhaps propelled by Eminem’s introduction — or more likely his own skill, as Crawford entered the bout with an undefeated 39-0 record, including 30 knockouts — “Bud” by all accounts dominated Spence Jr. (a previously undefeated fighter in his own right), earning a nine-round TKO in what was hailed as the most anticipated boxing match of 2023.
Following his victory, Crawford told Showtime about how he managed to get Eminem to be his hype man, saying he simply DM’d the rapper. “I throw a rock in a haystack and he replied, I told him to pull up, and he said, ‘I’m there. You’re one of my favorite fighters,’” Crawford said. “That showed a lot of support for me, and that showed what level I’m at in the boxing world.”
Eminem is a longtime admirer of pugilism, with the rapper originally slated to play a boxer on the big screen in the drama Southpaw; the role ultimately went to Jake Gyllenhaal, with Eminem contributing new music to the film’s soundtrack. Eminem’s 2010 albumRecoveryalso boasted a track titled“Cinderella Man,”a reference to the Russell Crowe-starring history-based fight flick.
